Tick Tock Combat
by Ghostwriter
Summary: As far as anyone knows, Casey's the boring keener.  But what happens when someone in her family discovers her amazing secret?
1. The Secret Life

TICK TOCK COMBAT

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Okay, this is just a plot that popped into my head. It's a Power Rangers/Life With Derek crossover. What can I say? I'm weird. Powers used: Mighty Morphin', and I'm using a character from Zyuranger. This takes place in the first season of LWD after "The Poxfather". For this, Billy had finished restoring the morphers just before "Forever Red" which is why Jason didn't have Adam's problem in "Always A Chance" and there were no further complications with the Mastodon morpher afterwards. Billy also managed to find a way to reenergize the Green Power Coin for good and take the evil spell off of it. Casey and her friends got the morphers when Bandora attacked Earth and it was determined that a younger set of Rangers would have an easier time fighting the forces of evil. Casey's past is obviously AU from the normal LWD series. Casey and Derek are still fighting and Casey's not interested in Sam. I got the video diary angle from Dino Thunder. Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon, while Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney.

Casey had her backpack on her shoulders and was about to head out the door when she heard a familiar six-tone beep. Furtively, she took off the pack, went back upstairs into her room, and locked the door.

"Yeah, what's up, Mr. Scott?" she asked.

"First, you know you can call me Jason. Second, Bandora's sent down another one of her monsters," Jason Lee Scott stated.

"I'll be right there," Casey told him. Then, "It's morphing time! Pterodactyl!" Instantly, she was back in Angel Grove. Seeing a large goat monster descending on the Green Ranger, she pulled out her Power Bow and fired.

"Casey!" the Green Ranger cried in relief.

"Jesse, are you all right?" she questioned, kneeling next to him.

"Yeah, I'm okay," he assured, standing up. Then, "Look out!" The Pink Ranger toppled to the ground and watched as her boyfriend took the brunt of the attack.

"JESSE!" the other Rangers came up beside the two.

"I'm getting sick of this guy! Let's finish him!" the Red Ranger exclaimed.

"Power Ax!" the Black Ranger called.

"Power Bow!" the Pink Ranger summoned.

"Power Daggers!" the Yellow Ranger hailed.

"Power Lance!" the Blue Ranger cried.

"Power Sword!" the Red Ranger finished. Then, the Green Ranger pulled out his Dragon Dagger and placed it on top of the Power Blaster.

"Fire!" they all shouted. Streams of energy came from the weapons and enveloped the monster, destroying it.

"Yeah! All right!" they all cried together. On the moon, Bandora cried out in rage.

"NOOOOOO! THEY DESTROYED ANOTHER ONE OF MY MONSTERS!" Her minions cowered as she turned her wrath on them. After defeating the monster, the Rangers-Casey, Jesse Reeves, Kelly Lautner, Bradley "Brad" Granger, Steven "Steve" Williams, and Alex Cross convened in their Command Center, a basement underneath Jason's house. Casey was the Pink Ranger, Jesse, a muscular Caucasian of 5'9 with chestnut-blonde hair and dark, chocolate eyes was the Green Ranger, Kelly, an African-American girl who was almost as tall as Jesse, had black hair and brown eyes, was the Yellow Ranger, Brad, who was a bit shorter than Kelly and had blonde hair and blue eyes, was the Blue Ranger, Steve, who was Hispanic youth who was somewhat shorter than Jesse with black hair and brown eyes, was the Black Ranger, and Alex, a muscular Caucasian with short, black, spiky hair and brownish-green eyes and matched Jesse height-wise, was the Red Ranger.

"Casey, you saved my butt, babe. Thanks," Jesse told her.

"Anytime," Casey promised, giving him a peck on the cheek.

"You guys did very well. I'm so proud of you all," Jason told them.

"Well, I'm just glad I'm still part of the team even though I don't live here anymore," Casey stated.

"Why wouldn't you be part of the team anymore?" Steve wondered.

"Well, don't you remember what Mr. Scott said in his video diary? When he and his friends left for the peace conference in Switzerland their leader had to replace them," Casey pointed out.

"Those were different circumstances. I was making a conscious decision to leave and from what I saw, Rocky was going to make a great Red Ranger. You, on the other hand, had no say in your leaving. It wouldn't be right for us to make you give up the Power just because of something out of your control," Jason stated.

"Speaking of leaving, I better get back before my cover's blown," Casey realized, and then teleported herself out. Within seconds, she was back in the MacDonald/Venturi household. She grabbed her backpack and then headed for the door. Hearing footsteps, she turned around.

"Casey? I thought you already left," her stepfather, George Venturi stated.

"Well, I was about to, and then I thought I had forgotten something but I hadn't, so…" Casey shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh, I see," the man said.

"Anyways, I'm off," Casey said, and hurried out the door. _Man, that was close_, she thought to herself. Then, she headed for the library. Once she at the building, she went to a table, pulled out her books, and began studying.


	2. Strange Behavior

DISCLAIMER

Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. Life With Derek belongs Canadian Television and Disney. I only own the plot. I **think** Casey's family's in Canada, or somewhere close, and I don't know what the time difference would be, so I apologize for the inaccuracy.

The next day, Casey walked up the steps to Sir John Sparrow High and made her way to her locker. With a sigh, she opened it and put her books in.

"Hey, Casey!" Emily Davids exclaimed, bounding up to her.

"Hey, Em," Casey responded. Emily looked at her in confusion.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm all right. Just tired. I stayed up late studying," she answered. The previous day's monster attack had put a crimp in her study block, so she had stayed up later than usual. The two girls went to their class. Casey pulled out her things and made a neat pile on her desk. Once the teacher started, she began scribbling furiously. Emily looked at her friend in concern. She didn't look good. And she didn't believe her excuse about staying up late to study. Sure her friend had a reputation for being a keener, but she had always harped on getting a good night's rest. And yet…for the last few days, she had been staying up late. It didn't make sense. However, she didn't get a chance to ask because as soon as the class ended, Casey quickly gathered up her things and headed for her next class. The whole day went by like that. Casey would finish a class and then just grab her things and leave. Even at lunch, she opted to sit by herself, ignoring Emily who called after her.

"Yo dude, what's up with your stepsister?" Derek Venturi's best friend, Sam Richards wondered.

"Like I care?" Derek responded.

"Dude, you gotta admit, she **has** been acting weird," another of his friends, Ralph Papadapolis, stated. Derek scoffed and rolled his eyes, but couldn't help staring at the girl, who was sitting alone. _That's weird. Doesn't she usually eat with Emily?_ he wondered, his brows furrowed in confusion. However, he shrugged and soon returned his attention to his friends. He didn't care whether or not she sat with the only friend she had here. Then, the bell rang and they went to their next class. When school was finally over, Emily hurried over to Casey.

"Hey Case, you need a ride to your place?" she questioned.

"No, thanks. It's such a nice day, I think I'll walk," came the response. Then, she headed off. Up on the moon, Bandora cackled and gazed at the scene.

"She's all alone. That can be dangerous. We **must** escort her," the witch stated.

"Samarin and I will go down with a group of Velocitrons. Without the other Power Brats, we can crush her easily," one of her chief warriors, Murdoch, a snake-like creature, stated. Another one of her chief warriors, Samarin, seemingly-human, was actually half mantis. Then, they disappeared. Casey shifted the weight of her backpack and-the creatures and Bandora's grunts, a group of people-sized beings with a black body, orange zigzag stripes, and claws for fingers, appeared.

"Great! Just what I **didn**'**t** need!" the girl sighed. She threw her backpack in the air, kicked it towards them, and then morphed, and got into a defensive stance. While she could take on the Velocitrons with no problem in her civilian form, Murdoch and Samarin were a whole different story.

"Come on, bozos! Who wants to be first?" she challenged. The creatures attacked and Casey quickly blocked. Murdoch lunged at her, brandishing his sword and she dodged the attack. "Gotta be quicker than **that**, Snake Boy!" He roared and energy crackled from his sword and he thrust it at her, knocking her to the ground. Samarin followed suit with her own attack. _Oooh, __**that**__'__**s**__ gonna leave a mark_, she thought to herself. She pulled herself to her feet and continued to fight. In his Command Center, Jason blanched as the alarms blared.

"Okay, what's going on where?" he wondered. Then, seeing the scene on his monitor, "Uh-oh." The man pressed the button on the console that contacted the Rangers.

"Yeah, what's up?" Alex asked.

"Casey's been attacked by Murdoch, Samarin, and a group of Velocitrons," Jason reported.

"On it," Alex said, and immediately, two of the group morphed and teleported. Once there, the Green Ranger grabbed a Velocitron and tossed it aside.

"My hero," she said and then went into a kick. The Red Ranger rushed at Murdoch, striking him and knocking him back. Samarin went to help her colleague, but the Pink Ranger intercepted her. The woman's eyes darkened and willed herself into her true form.

"Oh, gross. I **hate** when she does that," the Pink Ranger stated. The Mantis growled and charged at her, but was kicked back. Murdoch hissed, pulled out his sword, let electricity flow from it, and then thrust it towards the Rangers, who quickly ducked. The Rangers pulled out their weapons, put them together, and then fired a beam at Murdoch and Samarin, who quickly teleported out. The Rangers de-morphed.

"You all right?" Jesse asked in concern.

"What was that all about?" Alex wondered.

"Don't know. But I better get going before Mom starts to worry," Casey answered.

"Why don't I walk you home?" Jesse offered and Alex looked at the ground, hiding his grin.

"Well, maybe just to my block," Casey answered.

"Great. Let's go," Jesse said and they walked off. Alex looked around furtively, and then once he was sure it was clear, teleported out.

"Where's Jesse?" Jason asked.

"Walking Casey to her block. He'll be home shortly," Alex answered.

"Kay," Jason answered. Meanwhile, the two had reached the block.

"Well, here we are," Casey said.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay? I mean, the Goon Platoon **could** come back."

"I'll be fine." He kissed her on the cheek and then, after making sure they were clear, he teleported back, leaving Casey to walk down the rest of the block and into her house. Hearing the door open, Edwin came out of his room and watched as Casey came in. She heaved a heavy sigh and then headed for her room. Edwin frowned. _Why does she look like she's got the weight of the world on her shoulders?_ he wondered. Then, he shrugged and went back to his room.


	3. Ignorance And Suspicions

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Thanks. Yeah, I know what you mean. Yep. Thanks. Well, it went the way I wrote it. Yes, it's stated in the line "The Pink Ranger toppled to the ground and watched as her boyfriend took the brunt of the attack" from the first chapter. Hope this is soon enough.

Twilight Gleek: Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoyin' it. Here's more.

DISCLAIMER

Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. Life With Derek belongs Canadian Television and Disney. I only own the plot.

In his room, Edwin sat on his bed, pondering what he had seen. _I wonder what's wrong with her. She looked really worried_, he thought to himself. With a sigh, he stood up and then went to her room and knocked on the door.

"Come in," she called.

"Hey, Casey," he greeted.

"Oh, hi, Edwin. What's up?" she asked in surprise.

"Is everything okay?" he checked. "I mean, you looked kind of down," he continued. She smiled. Edwin was sweet, not at all like Derek.

"I'm all right. It was just a long day," she told him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." He nodded and then went back to his room. _Tired? Long day? That doesn't sound like_ Casey, he thought to himself. Maybe he should talk to Lizzie. She might know what was bothering Casey. Later that night, after dinner, he pulled Lizzie into the games closet.

"What is it?" she questioned.

"There's something up with Casey. She's been tired a lot…and she's been so secretive," he answered. She frowned.

"I've noticed some bruises, but she just brushes them off as being klutzy or getting them in dance or karate," she continued.

"She takes karate?" Edwin asked in surprise.

"Yeah, she picked it up a little before Mom got married to George and she's been continuing the lessons here," Lizzie responded.

"Do you think any of her bruises **could** be from the class?" Edwin surmised. His stepsister frowned.

"It's a possibility for **some** of the bruises, but others-no way," she finally replied.

"So, whatta ya say? Do some necessary investigating?"

"I'm in." They clasped hands and then nodded once at each other. Then, they left the games closet and went up to his room to make plans. Meanwhile, Derek had sat in his chair and turned on a hockey game. He settled back as he got engrossed in the sport. Up in her room, Casey lifted up her shirt so that she could asses her bruises. She winced when she saw the angry red gash on her chest.

"Yeah, **definitely** gonna leave a mark," she muttered. Then, she went to her drawer, where she kept a first aid kit and put disinfectant on the cut. _Well, it won't help much, but every little bit counts_, she thought to herself. It wasn't like she had gotten hit with a regular blade or something. Samarin and Murdoch's weapons were laced with magic and therefore were more likely to leave lasting scars, something that had been proven in other battles. After disinfecting, she wrapped a gauze around it. While nothing had been broken or cracked, the gauze would keep the wound from being irritated. Her communicator went off and she quickly pressed the 'talk' button.

"Yeah, what's up?" she asked professionally.

"Saw the fight on the viewing globe," Jason answered. "You all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a gash. Already treated."

"Okay. I was just making sure." She smiled at his worried tone.

"You hate the fact that I'm so far away, don't you?"

"Of course I do! You're one of my kids. I'm supposed to protect and help you."

"Don't worry. I'll be fine." She signed off and then headed for the bathroom. After her day, a nice long, warm bath sounded really good. She turned on the water, letting it run. Then she slipped out of her clothes, took of her communicator, and stepped into the water. As she did so, she could feel the muscles in her body start to relax. _Ahhhhhhh. Yes. Ohhhhh, that feels good_, she thought to herself. As quick as her sore muscles would allow her, though she lingered just for a bit, she got herself clean. Then, she finally got out of the tub, put on some pajamas and then went to her room and put on some music and then lay on her bed. _I'll have to remember to go to the dojo tomorrow_, she thought to herself. She tried to get in as much practice as she could, but it was hard when you were only fifteen with no license and no friends to help you with your form. At least the people at the dojo were friendly and willing to help her. And besides, punching and kicking the tar out of a punching bag was **way** more constructive than going off on Derek whenever he was being a jerk. These thoughts faded as the girl drifted off to sleep. Meanwhile, in Lizzie and Edwin were in his bedroom making a short list of what they had discussed.

"So, when do we really put it into action?" Edwin asked.

"Tomorrow morning. We'll start watching her then," Lizzie answered. "I'll tell you this though, if it turns out that someone's hurting Casey, they better **pray** that I don't find them," she continued. Edwin gulped at the fierce look on her face. She looked ready to kill and didn't doubt that she would if she had to. In the basement bedroom, George and Nora were talking and laughing. It wasn't often that they had time alone, so they were taking the momentary lull and using it to their advantage. Back in the living room, Derek was still watching the hockey game.

"YEAH! YEAH! GO! GO! GO! SCOOOOOORE!" the boy cheered as the team made the goal. What no one knew was that Bandora was watching all of this from her moon palace.

"So…the Pink Ranger has a new family, does she?" she smirked. "Well, not for long, kid!" She burst into haunting laughter.


	4. Sparring And Fighting

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: No prob. That's right. Nope, they don't. No plans for that as of yet, but knowing me, it could always change. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. Bandora is taken from ZyuRanger, and I'm not sure who owns that. Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. I only own the plot. I looked up belt rankings on a couple of different sites and it changed a bit with the different styles, but the color rankings seemed to share a pattern so I did the best I could. I'm also looking for someone who would be willing to make a trailer for this. I'd do it myself, but I don't have any LWD clips. Trailer can be used with moving clips or stills. I don't care who you use for the Rangers as long as they're as close to my description in ch 1 as you can get.

The next morning, Casey awoke to rock music. She moaned and looked at the clock. Then, she got up, got dressed, and then turned on her cell phone. Almost immediately, it rang. She picked up and pressed the 'talk' button.

"Hello?" she queried.

"Casey, we still on for today?" a voice questioned.

"We sure are, Kirk," Casey confirmed.

"Okay. I'll see you in a couple of hours," Kirk told her.

"Okay," Casey agreed and then hung up. With that, she went downstairs and got out a box of cereal, which she poured into a bowl. Then, she sat down and began eating. When she was done, she washed her dishes and put it into the dishwasher. Then, she went back upstairs and got into her gi leaving her pink shirt on, putting some regular clothes in a duffel, and put her hair into a ponytail. Then, she went over to her c.d. collection, picked out a c.d., grabbed her things, went back downstairs, put a c.d. in the d.v.d. player, and as the music started, she began with a warm-up exercise that soon turned into an intense kata. She flipped over the couch, landing on her feet, and then went into a tumble, and when she came up again, she was in defensive stance, proving that her klutziness was actually an act. She kicked and punched the air, adding in flips, tumbles, and spins. When the routine was done, she went into a cool down exercise. Suddenly, she heard a knocking. _Two hours already?_ she wondered, and then looked at her watch. _Yep_, she confirmed. She then gathered up her duffel and headed for the door. Then, she stepped outside as a small convertible stopped in front of the house. Casey got in and the man drove off. When they got to the dojo, she walked in and got in line and stood at attention. Then, a man around 6'0 in his thirties with blonde hair and blue eyes walked up and waited until the rest of the class was there. Then, they began with warm up exercises and then began a kata. As the class followed his instructions, Kirk Warner watched his students carefully, occasionally stopping to correct a student's posture or put a foot or arm in the proper place. After a while, he put various students together for sparring. _Man, where did Casey train before?_ He wondered, seeing the swiftness of her kicks. Wherever it had been, she must've been training for a while, because when she had had come to him she had been a blue belt and now she was a green belt. Not to mention the fact that she seemed to have melded various styles of the Martial Arts together. A couple of hours later, they took a short break. Meanwhile, back at the MacDonald/Venturi household, George was doing some work in the kitchen while Nora was talking on the phone with a coworker. Marti was in her room in her own little world, Lizzie and Edwin were snooping in Casey's room trying to find anything that they could use to figure out where her bruises were coming from, and Derek was in the living room watching a hockey game. Back at the dojo, the break had ended and the students had once again partnered up for a sparring session. Casey's partner, a boy named Tony Sparks, went to punch her, but she caught the fist, twisted the arm back, and then hooked her leg around Tony's ankle, knocking him on his back.

"Good move, Casey," Kirk said.

"Yeah, that was pretty awesome," Tony agreed as she helped him up. "You keep this up, you're gonna be movin' up a belt again." Casey chuckled.

"Uh, maybe not. I don't have my sparring partners with me," she told them. "Not since we moved," she continued.

"That must bite," her friend stated.

"It does."

"You still arguing with your stepbrother?" Casey rolled her eyes.

"Yes. He's a total clod."

"So, why don't you drop kick him?"

"Oh, yes. I'm sure **that**'**d** go over real well with our parents." Tony chuckled.

"Yeah, okay, maybe that wouldn't be the brightest move." A few minutes later, they were led into a cool down. Then, Casey grabbed her duffel, went into the girl's restroom, and took off the top of her gi and put it in her duffel. Then, her communicator beeped.

""What's up?" she asked.

"Casey, we're at Angel Grove Dam and we need help!" she heard Alex shout.

"On, my way," she said. "Pterodactyl!" Once she was there, she pulled out her Power Bow and fired it at the giant lizard. It screamed and then shot fire from its mouth, hitting the Rangers.

"Everyone okay?" the Red Ranger queried. The monster teleported to the bridge and they jumped up after it. They pulled out their weapons and lunged at the monster. It laughed.

"You are no match for me!" With another laugh, it shot a beam at them. The Rangers ducked, and most of them managed to dodge the beam. However, one was struck and fell over the bridge. The other Rangers hurried to the ledge.

"CASE-E-E-E-EY!"


	5. Battle Revelation

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Yeah, I know. Here you go. Yes, it was. No they weren't. Yeah I know the transition was choppy, thanks for the con-crit. Here's your update. (No prob).

DISCLAIMER

Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. Bandora is taken from ZyuRanger and I'm not sure who owns that. Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. I only own the plot and characters you don't recognize.

The Pink Ranger grunted as she hit the water. There was a rush of energy as her protective suit left her. The water swirled around her and she was slammed into the wall.

"CASEY!" the Green Ranger jumped in after her and the lizard monster charged at the other Rangers, causing them to turn back around. The Green Ranger hurried after her, fighting against the currents. When he finally reached her, he grabbed her, and pulled her close.

"My ankle," she told him and he teleported them both to the bridge.

"Just stay here," he told her. Then, he joined the rest of the group as they fought. The lizard laughed and shot another beam at them. This time, however, it only knocked them down. The Blue Ranger flipped through the air and struck him with his Power Lance, which was followed by the Yellow Rangers hitting the monster with her Power Daggers. The lizard stumbled back.

"This isn't over, Power Punks. Bandora's got plans for you-especially Pinky," it taunted. The Green Ranger lunged at the creature, only to have it teleport out. Casey tried to stand, only to have the others sit her back down.

"We gotta get you to the Command Center," the Green Ranger said, and instantly, they all teleported. Jason quickly put two chairs together and the other Rangers placed her on them.

"My ankle-it hurts really bad," Casey reported.

"Which one?" Jason asked.

"Right," Casey answered and Jason took her right shoe and sock off. They winced when they saw the purplish bruise.

"No wonder it hurts," Jason sympathized. "You must've gotten slammed pretty hard."

"Yeah, and I was demorphed."

"I'll get the ice," Jesse said and headed upstairs for the man's kitchen. Then, he came back down with some ice wrapped in a towel, knelt down, and wrapped it around his girlfriend's ankle. She winced and grabbed Alex's hand, squeezing it tightly. When the wrapping was done, she let go and Alex shook his hand, trying to get the feeling back.

"Looks like it'll hold, but you probably shouldn't walk on it for a while," Jason advised.

"How are you going to explain it?" Kelly wondered.

"Oh, I'll just make a show of falling off of the couch or something," Casey answered.

"But you can't keep doing that," protested Brad.

"Sure I can. It'll just look like the return of Klutzilla," Casey stated.

"Don't use that word," Jesse growled and Casey laughed at the protective tone.

"You still totally want to drop kick him for that, don't you?" Casey laughed.

"Of course. Nobody insults my girl," Jesse stated.

"Say that again," Casey requested.

"My girl," Jesse repeated, leaning forward and kissing her on the lips. Casey wrapped her arms around him and let her fingers get tangled up in his hair. Jason cleared his throat and they reluctantly pulled away.

"You better get back before someone misses you," he warned.

"I know," she sighed and went to unwrap the towel her ankle.

"You can keep the towel." She checked to make sure the towel was hidden and then teleported herself back into the locker room just as Kirk burst in.

"Where have you been?" he demanded. "I've been looking all over for you."

"Sorry." She followed him out the door and to his car. Minutes later, she was back home. Then she hobbled up to her room and sat on her bed. _Ohhhh! Pain! Pain!_ She thought to herself. _Oh, man! If only I hadn't demorphed_, she thought. She grabbed her books and began studying. Soon, she became engrossed. Then, Derek barged into her room.

"Der-ek!" she exclaimed.

"Dinner's ready, keener," he told her and then left. She let out a frustrated groan and carefully went downstairs.

"Oh, hey, Sam," she greeted in surprise.

"Hi," he acknowledged. Then, as she sat down, "Is that a new outfit?"

"Huh?" she looked down at her shirt. "Oh, I had karate today and I never changed out of my gi."

"**You**'**re** in karate?" Derek scoffed with a laugh. _She can barely walk without falling down. There's no way she'd be able to take karate_, he thought to himself.

"Is that so hard to believe?" Casey queried. _Never escalate a battle, never escalate a battle, never escalate a battle, never escalate a battle_, she reminded herself. It was one of the rules of being a Power Ranger, along with keeping their identities secret and not using their powers for personal gain.

"Casey, in case you forgot, you're Klutzilla," Derek stated. Casey's eyes flashed.

"Dude, quit it," Sam hissed.

"Sam's right. Let's just eat," Nora agreed. Casey grumbled but did as she was told. Derek smirked. _Ha. I always win_, he thought to himself. The rest of dinner was relatively quiet, which may have been due to the fact that Casey was trying to keep her injury a secret. After dinner was over, everyone stood up. Derek waited until Casey had gathered up the dishes and was on her way out, when he bumped against her right ankle. She cried out in pain and dropped to the ground, the dishes spilling.

"DEREK!" George shouted.

"I didn't touch her that hard!" Derek protested. And he hadn't. Sam knelt down and gently touched her ankle. His eyes furrowed when he saw the towel. He gingerly unwrapped it.

"Dude, she's really hurt!" he exclaimed. Everyone stared in surprise at the large bruise.


	6. Hospital And Plans

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Twilight Gleek: Thanks. Hope this is soon enough. Here's more.

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Oh yeah, I didn't even think about that. No, they're not in this story. Jason is the mentor. Thanks, hope you don't mind, but I took your idea. No, they've never dated. Remember I stated in the author's note of the first chap that Casey's not interested in Sam. Pre "Sweet Misery", I thought it'd be a nice little homage for those who have seen the series. Thank you. Sorry this isn't soon enough. Hey, don't apologize. I **like** long reviews.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. I only own the plot. I'm not sure how long x-ray results take, so I'm pretty sure I'm taking liberties.

"Casey, what happened?" George queried.

"We had a sparring session today and my partner overshot the move and my leg got pinned," Casey answered. Lizzie and Edwin shared a look. That didn't seem like a bruise you would get from getting pinned to a wall from an overshot move.

"That looks pretty nasty," Sam noted. Casey tried to stand, but George gently pushed her back down.

"I'll call the doctor. See if we can't get that checked out," he said and then went to do so. Derek couldn't help but stare at the purplish bruise. _Man! That looks bad. How was she able to stand on it?_ he wondered. When George got off of the phone, he turned to them.

"Derek, Sam. Help Casey to the car. The nurse stated a doctor could see us as soon as got there," George told them. The two boys helped the girl to her feet and Sam lifted her up, taking note of her leg.

"Edwin, would get a couple of pillows?" Sam requested.

"Yeah," Edwin nodded and went to do as requested. Then, they made Casey comfortable in the back seat and joined her.

"This is going to get very cramped, isn't it?" Casey asked.

"Probably," Sam and Derek confirmed. It took them about fifteen minutes to get to the hospital and once there, they all got out of the car, and Derek and Sam helped her into the building and sat her down in a chair in the waiting room as George and Nora went to the desk to explain who they were. The nurse nodded and phoned something in. Minutes later, the doctor came into the room and called her name. The doctor, who introduced himself as Dr. Wong, came into the hall and led them into his office, Casey still being carried by Sam and Derek.

"Now, how did this happen?" he queried, looking at the bruise.

"I'm in a karate class and we had a sparring session today. My partner overshot the move and my leg got pinned," Casey answered. She winced as his fingers touched it. He frowned.

"I'd like to do an x-ray. Just to be on the safe side," the doctor said.

"Of course. Whatever you think is best," George agreed. He led them to a room with an x-ray machine, set Casey up so that she was sitting as comfortably as she possibly could, and then took pictures of the ankle. Then he left to have them developed. Casey blew out a breath.

"How are you doing?" Sam questioned.

"I'm all right," Casey answered.

"You sure?" Sam checked. She nodded. A few minutes later, Dr. Wong came back.

"Mr. and Mrs. Venturi, may I talk to you in private?" he queried, earning confused looks from the kids.

"Um, sure," Nora agreed and they walked out.

"What's going on?" George prompted.

"I'm a little concerned about Casey's ankle healing properly," Dr. Wong answered.

"What? Why?" Nora wondered.

"Well, with her previous fracture-" Dr. Wong started to say.

"WHAT!" Nora and George chorused.

"You didn't know?" Dr. Wong asked in surprise.

"No! This doesn't make sense. Why wouldn't she mention that she had broken her ankle before?" Nora wondered.

"Has there ever been any abuse in the family?" Dr. Wong continued.

"No!" Nora and George exclaimed together.

"I only ask because her right ankle wasn't the only fracture the x-rays picked up. Now, there weren't a **heavy** amount of them, but it was enough that I had to check," Dr. Wong told them.

"How long ago was the last fracture?" George asked.

"I'd say about sometime in the last year," Dr. Wong replied. George looked confused.

"I think that might've been when Casey had her accident right before she got her green belt," Nora said.

"Your daughter's a martial artist?" Dr. Wong asked. "Well, I suppose that **could** explain some of the fractures. High contact, can get passionate, a move is overshot."

"You've had some others kids in here?"

"Yeah."

"So, there's nothing to worry about?" George checked.

"I guess not," Dr. Wong sighed.

"Thank you, Dr. Wong," George said.

"We're going to wrap Casey's leg and she'll have to stay off of it for a while" Dr. Wong told them.

"I'll tell Casey," Nora sighed. _She's not going to like this_, she thought. True to what she thought, Casey wasn't happy about the news that she had to stay off of her feet.

"No! What about my dancing or martial arts?" Casey wondered. _Not to mention piloting my zord_, she thought.

"It's not broken, so it'll only be for a couple of weeks," Dr. Wong assured.

"This bites," Casey groaned, banging her head against the wall.

"You mean, she can't run or walk or-" Sam began to ask.

"Dance in the living room while we're watching hockey?" Derek interrupted. "Sweet!" Everyone glared at him. "What! This is good news," he continued. Sam shook his head.

"Dude, **so** not cool," he muttered. He then helped Casey stand up and then once again lifted her up and headed for the car, the rest of the group at his heels. George got into the driver's seat, put the car into drive, and then took off. When they got home, Sam put Casey on the couch.

"I'm sorry to bail on you, but my parents will probably want me home," Sam said, and then took off. Casey sighed and carefully spread out on the couch.

"You all right?" Lizzie questioned as she, Edwin, and Marti crowded around her.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Casey answered. "I'm kind of tired though, it's been a long day. So…"

"Gotcha." They headed upstairs. Derek lingered.

"So, how come she gets to stay down here?" he spat out. With a frustrated groan, George grabbed his son by the arm and dragged him upstairs. Casey hunkered down to sleep, unaware that they were all being watched by Bandora. The witch cackled.

"I couldn't have planned this better myself!" she exclaimed. "Samarin, you'll wait until later tonight and then go down in your bug form. The sensors won't detect you and that way you can spread your venom to Pinky and her family." Samarin waited until everyone had fallen asleep and then teleported to the house. Little miniature preying mantises scurried through the house. In different rooms, George, Nora, Derek, Edwin, Marti, Lizzie, and Casey shifted in their sleep as the insects traveled through the house.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I realize that the Powers mostly likely gave the Rangers fast healing abilities, but I'm sure there had to be some times that they were injured in some way. I got the miniature preying mantises idea from the ZyuRanger episode that introduced Lami and she had those little Scorpions that she used against the Rangers.


	7. Attack And Revelation

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Thanks. Wow. It must be good if I have an author of your caliber waiting in anticipation. Could be. Yes, she does and I'll remember to reference that later. Thank you. Sorry this isn't soon enough. No prob. Thanks. Btw, when are you going to update A Past That Can't Be Buried or Second Chances?

DISCLAIMER

Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Bandora is from ZyuRanger and I'm not sure who owns that. I only own the plot.

Derek had been sleeping peacefully until a frightened shriek woke him. He groaned. _What the heck?_ He wondered.

"SMEREK! SMEREK!" In a flash, Derek was up and heading towards Marti's bedroom. He turned on the lights. To his surprise, a numerous amount of praying mantises were in the room.

"Smarti, it's okay. It's just bunch of praying mantises. They're not going to hurt you," he assured.

"They're icky! Get them out!" Marti screamed. Derek started for her and to his surprise; the insects clumped together, turned to him, and made a hideous noise. He cried out in surprise as they headed in his direction. _What the heck? It's like they're trying to stop me from getting to her_, he thought. His eyes darkened. Well, too bad. Because no one or nothing was keeping him from getting to his sister. He quickly ran into the room, dodging the bug's teeth. In her own room, Lizzie jumped aside with frightened gasps as the creatures lunged at her. In his room, Edwin threw pairs and pairs of shoes at the bugs in an effort to make them scatter to no avail. In their basement bedroom, Nora was screaming as George tried to kill them without success. _Where did they all come from?_ he wondered with annoyance. In her room, Casey was busy knocking the creatures back, being careful to keep away from their mouths as she tried to get to a sonar whistle. Finally, she was able to reach up and grab it. Then, she put it to her lips and blew. The creatures shrieked in pain and scattered. In his room, Edwin cried out in pain as a mantis bit him on the left arm. Then, suddenly, they all began shrieking and scurrying away. Once the creatures were out of the house, they disappeared. Casey panted, put the whistle back, and then ran out into the hallways, where she saw her brothers and sisters.

"Is everyone okay?" she asked anxiously. They all nodded.

"They were icky," Marti complained, burying her face in Derek's shoulder.

"It's okay, Smarti. I gotcha," he comforted, hugging her. They all heard running footsteps and turned to see George and Nora.

"Are you kids okay?" George asked. Everyone nodded.

"George, what happened? Do we need to call an exterminator?" Casey wondered. _Not that it'd do any good, but it'd look weird if I didn't ask_, she thought to herself.

"No!" George exclaimed. "No," he repeated more calmly. "I'm not exactly sure where all of the praying mantises came from, but there is absolutely no need to waste money on an exterminator," he continued. Then, after making sure their kids were all right, they headed back downstairs, with the rest of the family in tow.

"This is **not** how I wanted to start my Saturday," Derek grumbled. Marti whimpered again and he hugged her, making shushing noises. Casey hung back in the hallway and then headed back to her room, where she picked up her communicator.

"Guys, Samarin was just here in bug form. I managed to get rid of her using the bat sonar whistle, but I have a feeling that Bandora's up to something major," Casey reported in a low tone.

"Everyone okay? Any bit?" Jason asked.

"No one got bit as far as I know," Casey answered.

"Well, if it turns out someone **was** bit, bring 'em to the Command Center. We'll risk exposing our identities," Alex stated. She smiled as the others made similar statements.

"Thanks," she said. She then left her room and headed back downstairs.

"Okay, would anyone like anything to eat?" George queried.

"Yes, please," everyone chorused. George went to the stove and began making breakfast. When it was finally ready, they all sat down and everyone chattered about normal things, trying to forget about what had happened. No one noticed Casey perusing the other members of her family, checking for any signs of being bitten. However, no one seemed to be exhibiting strange behavior, but Edwin seemed to be unusually quiet. When everyone was finally done, they all went their separate ways. Edwin headed up the stairs and then dropped to his knees. _Oh, man. What is this? I feel so sick. I feel so hot_, he thought to himself.

"Edwin!" Instantly, Casey was at his side.

"Casey, I don't feel so great," Edwin moaned. She searched his body. Her eyes widened when she saw the bite on his left arm.

"Oh, I gotta get you some help," she realized, and then teleported them both out. Jason, who was flanked by the other Rangers, was sitting in a chair in the Command Center, watching a computer screen when there was a whooshing sound.

"Casey," he said in surprise.

"He was bit. He needs the serum," Casey told him.

"Right," Jason nodded and then hurried up the stairs to the fridge where he kept the serum as Casey, Jesse, Kelly, Brad, Steve, and Alex helped him to a chair.

"Easy, kid. We're gonna fix you right up," Jesse assured. Jason came back down with a vial and a syringe, which he handed to Casey.

"Now Edwin, I'm sorry, but this is going to hurt," she warned and then stuck him. He groaned. And then, instantly, he began to feel better.

"Okay, just sit up slowly," Casey coached, helping him do so. Edwin looked at them.

"Who are you guys?" he queried.

"Edwin, these are my friends Kelly, Brad, Steve, Alex, my boyfriend Jesse, and our mentor Jason Lee Scott," his stepsister answered. She bit her lip and looked at them all hesitantly. They nodded, giving her their consent. "We're the Power Rangers."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I got the idea for the whistle from the BTVS ep "Teacher's Pet". I don't know if Bat Sonar can really mess with a praying mantis's nervous system or hearing, but it worked for this.


	8. Plan In Motion

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Twilight Gleek: Thanks. Here's more. Sorry the update's not soon enough.

Taito-Yamachi Fan Girl: Okay, sorry this isn't soon enough.

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Ah, I see. I don't know. Probably. You'll see. Oh, I don't know. The household could be pretty oblivious sometimes. Thank you for the catch, that has been fixed. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. I use a character from ZyuRanger and I'm not sure who owns it. Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. For the monster-making, I'm using the Monster-Matic since it's convenient. I only own the plot and characters you don't recognize. This is inspired by "Power Ranger Punks", but I'll try to make it as different as possible, which means Casey'll get a little more destructive than Billy and Kimberly did.

"The what now?" Edwin asked.

"The Power Rangers. I had been one for months when Mom and George got married," Casey replied.

"Whoa! This is cool," Edwin breathed.

"Listen, no one can know about our identities. They're a secret for a reason," Jesse stated.

"Yeah. I mean, if people found out who we were-" Kelly continued.

"It'd be a real big mess, Steve finished.

"So, what do I have to do? Take an oath, sign a contract, what?" Edwin wondered.

"You'll have to take an oath," Alex answered.

"Look, we're really going out on a limb for you," Brad stated.

"I realize that. I won't tell anyone. And not even Derek will get it out of me," Edwin promised.

"All right then. Repeat after me," Jason instructed. "I swear upon the forces of goodness-"

"I swear on the forces of goodness-"

"To maintain the secret-"

"To maintain the secret-"

"Of the true identities of the Power Rangers."

"Of the true identities of the Power Rangers." Casey hugged Edwin.

"Thanks, Ed."

"No problem."

"You guys better get back before someone gets suspicious," Jason stated.

"Right," Casey nodded. "Stick close to me, Ed," she continued. He nodded and grabbed her arm and she teleported them back to her bedroom.

"Whoa. That's a weird feeling," Edwin stated.

"Yeah, it took me a while to get used to it too," Casey chuckled. Edwin walked out of the bedroom and headed back to his. _Whoa! I can't believe it!_ _Casey is __**so**__ much cooler than we thought!_ he thought to himself. And the coolest thing was that he knew it, but Derek didn't. He **finally** had a secret of his own. He loved it. In her room, Casey had turned on her stereo and was doing her homework as she listened to the music. She shifted and then winced in pain. She had forgotten about the wound on her chest. _Oh, I can't wait until that's fully healed_, she thought. But on the bright side, at least it wasn't as bad as it could've been. Meanwhile, Derek was listening to rock and roll and was miming a drum riff and a guitar riff. On the moon, Bandora was watching this through her telescope.

"OOOOOOOHHHH!" she shrieked. "Samarin! I can't believe you failed!"

"I'm sorry, Empress. I should've remembered how quick-thinking and resourceful the Pink Ranger is," Samarin responded.

"Well, no matter. If we can't get to Pinky and her family one way, we'll just have to choose another way," Bandora smirked. _I'll let Pinky enjoy her little victory while __**I**__ do some planning_, she thought to herself. But, she also had to keep the other Rangers occupied so that they couldn't come to their friend's rescue. She switched her gaze from Casey's home to Angel Grove. _Now what can I do to keep the other Power Brats busy while I take care of Casey?_ She wondered to herself. Then, she grinned. _I've got it! A monster while I change Casey's personality!_ she thought.

"Murdoch! Samarin! We've got planning to do! We're going to destroy Casey and her family from the inside out!" she shouted.

"What do you mean, Empress?" Murdoch questioned.

"We'll change her personality and turn her against her family," Bandora stated.

"Excellent idea, Empress. But what about the other Rangers?" Murdoch questioned.

"We'll create a monster! A nasty one that will keep them occupied as we focus on the Pink Power Brat," Bandora answered.

"I'll have Gorkon get started on it right away," Murdoch stated and then went to do so. Gorkon, a tall bat-like creature, was in his laboratory when Murdoch came in.

"Yesssss, Murdoch. What can I do for Empressssss?" Gorkon questioned. _Now __**he**__ scares me. No bat should be able to hiss like that_, Murdoch thought to himself. Not to mention that the creature was slightly crazy.

"She wants a nasty monster that'll keep the other Rangers occupied while she takes care of the Pink Ranger," Murdoch answered.

"Ah yessssss, I have jussssst the thing," Gorkon answered. Then he turned to his clay molds and started building a creature as Murdoch quickly scurried out. As this was going on, Bandora was hunched over a cauldron, chanting in a foreign language. Soon, the Pink Ranger would be changed and no one would be none the wiser. There was a hiss and a crackle. _Yes! The potion is ready!_ She thought to herself. She looked around and found a glass of juice. She made herself invisible, transported herself to Earth, and walked up to the kitchen. Then, she poured the potion into the cup. She laughed. _Soon Pinky will be as bad as bad can be_! She thought to herself and then disappeared. Presently, Casey came back into the kitchen. She started to take a drink just as Derek came in.

"Give."

"No." She hurriedly drank it before he could snatch it away from her. Then, she groaned as everything started to swim.

"Hey, whoa. Are you okay?" he asked. She wasn't looking so good all of a sudden. She doubled up as she let out a groan and when she looked back up, Derek gulped and took a step back. Her eyes were glowing red.


	9. A New Attitude

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Twilight Gleek: Thank you. Here's more.

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Yep. We'll see. Again, we'll see. Thank you. The reason for that is because Casey hurt her ankle while she was demorphed and it got slammed into a wall (a regular human injury), whereas the gash on her chest came from Samarin's weapon (a magical injury) and would take more time to heal regardless of healing abilities brought on by the Power. Sorry for the confusion. Sorry this isn't soon enough. Yeah, that didn't work out the way you wanted, did it?

DISCLAIMER

Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. Bandora is from ZyuRanger, and I'm not sure who owns that. Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. I only own the plot.

"Casey," Derek said nervously. _What the heck is going on here?_ he wondered.

"What's the matter, Derek? Don't like what you see?" Casey mocked as her eyes returned to their natural color. She then strode past him, shoving him and headed out. He stared for a minute and then hurried after her. To his surprise, he saw her throw a rock at a car window.

"Hey! Hey!" he shouted, running up to her. "What are you doing?" he questioned, grabbing her arm. She broke free of his grasp.

"I'm just having a little fun, **Der**-**ek**. What does it look like?" she sneered.

"Casey, this isn't you. There's something wrong," he insisted. She laughed meanly.

"Maybe I'm not the weak little goody-good you all think I am," she retorted, shoving him to the ground.

"What the? Casey?" he asked in confusion. She just laughed, and reached into the car window. When she realized that there were no keys in the car, she just let out a scoff and continued on her way. _These people are __**so**__ lame!_ she thought to herself. Presently, Emily came by riding on her bike.

"Hey, Casey," she greeted cheerfully. She was ignored. "Casey?" she asked again. Again, there was no answer. "Hey! Case-ey!" With a huff, the girl turned around.

"What?" she snapped.

"Ooooh. Fight with Derek?" her friend asked.

"No," came the answer.

"Then what's wrong?" Emily asked.

"Maybe I just don't feel like spending all of my time with a whining dork like **you**!" Casey snapped, shoving her friend. With a cry of surprise, Emily fell off of the bike. Before she could get her bearings, Casey grabbed the bike, hopped on, and sped off. _I don't believe this! What's gotten into her?_ Emily wondered as she stood up. Then, she started chasing after her friend. In his house in Angel Grove, Jason had been doing a kata in the living room when he heard the alarms blaring from the basement. Puzzled, he went down and immediately started a scan. After a while, to his surprise, he saw Casey pedaling down her block with a girl chasing after her. _What's going on?_ he wondered.

"Casey, come back here! Give me back my bike!" he heard the girl yell. _She took her bike?_ Jason thought in surprise. Why would she…the question trailed off.

"Uh-oh," he muttered. He touched the communication button on the console. "Casey, report immediately," he ordered.

"Buzz off, old man. I'm sick of getting my life messed up and I'm sick of following your orders," she snarled, and then with one hand, took off her communicator and tossed it on the street. Jason banged a hand on the console.

"Great! Terrific! She's under a spell and I can't transport her here!" he seethed. Then, contacting the other Rangers, "Guys, we've got a situation."

"What's up, Jason?" Alex questioned.

"Casey's under one of Bandora's spells and she took off her communicator," Jason answered.

"What do we do?" Kelly asked.

"First we have to figure out what kind of spell she's under and then we can go from there," Jason answered.

"Right. Alex out," Alex said and they all dropped contact. Emily picked up the communicator. _Why would she throw away her watch?_ she wondered. It didn't make sense. With a sigh, she continued to chase after her friend. _This is ridiculous! Why's Casey acting this way?_ she wondered. It just didn't make sense. Realizing that she wouldn't catch up with her, she headed back. When she reached the MacDonald/Venturi household, she knocked on the door, which was soon opened to reveal Edwin.

"Hey. You here to see Derek or Casey?" he questioned.

"I'm just here to return Casey's watch. And you can tell her to come find me whenever she's over this weird funk of hers," the girl answered, handing him the communicator. Edwin looked at her in confusion. However, before he could ask, she turned on her heel and walked to her house. _Okay, this isn't good_, he thought to himself. Then, he pocketed the communicator and went to his room, all the while praying that whatever was going on with Casey would end soon.


	10. Theories

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Sorry for the long wait. Yeah, I got inspired by the original ep rather than the American version. Yep. Read on and see. Read on and see. This is Season One Derek, so while he would've been surprised at Casey's attitude, I didn't really see him following her. I will. We'll see.

Twilight Gleek: Thank you. Here's more.

DISCLAIMER

Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. I only own the plot. Reference to "Power Rangers Punks" which is what inspired this plot, though I think was more inspired by the Super Sentai episode "Together Spirits In Shaved Ice (Kakigori in Goyo Kokoro" which is the original version of the ep.

Edwin hurried to his room and locked it. Then, he turned the communicator in his hand. _Now, how do you reach anybody?_ he wondered to himself, looking the device over. Then, he saw a button. _Oh, that's probably it_, he realized. He pressed it and-a strange rush of energy enveloped him and he disappeared in a clear light. When he landed, he found himself in basement.

"What the-" he asked over blaring alarms. Jason pressed some buttons and the alarms stopped.

"Let me guess, you were looking for the 'talk' button," he said with a small grin.

"Yeah…sorry," the boy apologized with a sheepish grin.

"Don't sweat it, kid. It took me and my friends a while to stop getting the two buttons mixed up too," the older man replied.

"Is everything okay with Casey? Emily said she was acting weird," Edwin commented.

"I think she might be under a spell, but I'm not entirely sure what spell it is, though it appears to be similar to a punk spell two of my old teammates got placed under," Jason responded, contacting the other Rangers.

"What's up?" Alex asked.

"You guys better get here. We've got a situation," Jason told them.

"So, how do we help her?" Edwin queried when eh was done.

"Well, if it **is** a punk spell, we're going to have to find the singing squash plant," Jason answered.

"The **what**?" Edwin gaped.

"The sap from the plant will return to her to normal…**if** it's the same spell," Jason continued.

"So, how do I find it?" Edwin queried. Jason was about to answer when five flashes of color appeared.

"What's going on?" Kelly wondered.

"Yeah, and where's Casey?" Steve wondered.

"The situation **is** Casey," Jason told them.

"What?" they all exclaimed in unison.

"She was placed under some sort of spell. And if it's one that I think it is, someone's going to have to go to a different galaxy to get a singing squash," Jason answered.

"A singing squash?" Jesse asked.

"Yes. The sap can create a potion that will return to her normal…**if** this is the same spell that was used last time," Jason answered. He was about to say more when the alarms blared again.

"Now what's going on?" Edwin asked.

"Ew. A slime creature," Brad commented with a disgusted look on his face.

"It's morphin' time!" Alex shouted.

"Dragonzord!" Jesse shouted.

"Mastodon!" Steve called.

"Triceratops!" Brad hailed.

"Saber-toothed Tiger!" Kelly summoned.

"Tyrannosaurus!" Alex yelled. Within a few seconds, they had teleported to the site. They watched as the monster attacked the Rangers, who pulled out their Power Weapons and struck the creature.

"So, how do I get this singing squash?" Edwin queried.

"You don't," Jason replied.

"But she's my sister! I want to help!" Edwin told him.

"I know you do, but Bandora will most likely send Velocitrons to stop you and you've never fought them before," Jason replied. Edwin blew out a breath. That made sense. But he still didn't like it. "Look, I could use some help on the computers. I can show you how to work everything and you can help me search for the plant and also see if we can find Casey," he continued.

"Okay, as long as I'm doing **something**," the boy agreed.

"Good man," the man approved, placing a hand on his shoulder. Then, they went to work. In the business district of Angel Grove, the Rangers were busy jabbing the slime creature with their Weapons. The Yellow Ranger thrust her daggers at him, only for the weapon to sink into the slime. The creature laughed and knocked her back and the other Rangers hurried over to her.

"Nothing we do penetrates it! It just sinks into the slime!" the Green Ranger exclaimed, as the blue Ranger helped the Yellow Ranger up. Meanwhile, Casey had pedaled across town, causing trouble and was now in the midst of chucking rocks at various store windows and slipping away before she could be seen. She laughed evilly and ducked into an alley. _I never knew that being bad could be so fun_, she thought to herself, unaware that she was being watched by a **very** concerned Jason and Edwin who had been able to find her through a visual search.

"If you guys can't give away your identities, how are we going to explain what Casey's doing?" Edwin wondered.

"I'll have a couple of the others go down in Ranger form and say that she had gotten placed under a spell by our enemies," Jason answered.

"That sounds like it could work," Edwin said. "So, where is this plant?"

"The last time it was retrieved, it was found in a dimensional gap in the Andromeda 5 section." Edwin watched as Jason expertly ran his fingers on the controls. "Found it! Dimensional gap…in the Onyx Section…yeah, definitely doing this one myself."

"What about Casey?"

"If it's all right with you, I'm going to teleport you there, you're gonna grab her, and then I'll lock onto her communicator signal, teleport her back, and place her in a transparent force field."

"Fine by me." Jason did a quick search to see if Casey had left the alley and was relieved to find that she hadn't. He then teleported Edwin there. Once he landed, Edwin tackled the girl, knocking her to the ground. Before she could get her bearings, Jason teleported them back and Casey landed in a transparent force field. She lunged at them just to be knocked back as Alex, Brad, Kelly, Jesse, and Steve landed in the room.

"Man, that thing is tough. We can't beat it," Jesse groaned in frustration. At a yell, they turned around. They watched as she tried to run at them, only to be knocked back.

"And we have to figure out how to get that squash plant so that we can get Casey back to normal," Alex added as he and Jesse shared looks of concern. The way things were going, if they couldn't get Casey back to normal, and if they couldn't figure out how to defeat Bandora's slime creature, the Earth was doomed.


	11. Antidote

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Twilight Gleek: Thanks. Hope this is soon enough. Here's more.

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Thanks. Yeah, I know. I've haven't seen the movie yet. But I thought it'd be fun to play with his character a bit. Yeah, I know it'd seem hard, but I got somethin' that could work. Well, probably not if they haven't shown up by now. It'd make no sense and would probably take away from the story. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. I only own the plot. Reference to Dino Thunder.

"Jason, what exactly is the spell that Casey got placed under?" Alex wondered.

"She's been turned from good to bad. The plant that I've found should undo the spell," Jason answered. "Of course, we also have to deal with the damage she's caused."

"I'm sure the Power Rangers could think of something," Steve said.

"Guys, you don't have-" Jason began.

"You and your team would've done the same for each other, right?" Alex queried.

"Yeah, of course," Jason answered.

"And we're doing this for Casey," Kelly declared. The other Rangers nodded and even Edwin voiced his agreement.

"What are you starin' at? I'm fine!" Casey shouted when she caught them glancing her way. She slammed her hand on the force field, wincing at the electrical shock.

"So…how'd you get all this stuff?" Edwin wondered.

"A lot of the original Rangers were able to get technology from our Command Center and Power Chamber which was divided up between us pretty evenly. One of my best friends, Tommy was going to use the teleportation system as well, but he got Rangers sooner than he expected and he never got a chance to install it," Jason answered.

"Huh," Edwin said thoughtfully. _That's kinda neat_, he thought to himself.

"Okay, look. Here's what we'll do. Steve, Kelly, and Brad will stay here to keep tabs on the slime monster and see if they can't find a weak spot, Jesse and I will see what we can do about the vandalism Casey's caused," Alex stated.

"Right," everyone agreed.

"And I know where we can get a possible antidote, but I don't want to leave Edwin alone and risk having Casey do something she'll regret," Jason said.

"I can get the antidote," Edwin offered again.

"No, I told you before, it's too dangerous," Jason disagreed. "I'm not going to let you take that kind of risk when you're unprotected."

"I can go with him," Brad said.

"That'll work," Jason agreed.

"Stick close to me, kid," Brad said. Edwin grabbed the boy and they teleported. _Whoa. Weird_, Edwin thought and they headed out. On the moon, Bandora looked through the telescope.

"WHAT? WHAT ARE THEY DOING THERE?" she shrieked. Then, before her minions could respond, "SEND DOWN THE VELOCITRONS!" It was done.

"Look, there's a plant," Edwin noted. They headed for it-and were immediately surrounded.

"Velocitrons! Stick close by me!" Brad said and blocked an attack. Edwin gasped. One of the creatures grabbed Edwin, who let out a kick. He had to get to that plant and he wasn't going to let anything stop him. The two boys kicked and punched their way through the melee until they had finally reached the plant. The Velocitrons reached for Edwin who rolled across the floor. _Man, I never thought I'd be grateful for Mom making me take gymnastics when I was younger_, he thought to himself. He flipped through the air and grabbed the plant, which emitted a high-pitched tone. The Velocitrons roared in agony and then disappeared. Brad grabbed Edwin's arm and then teleported them both out.

"Got the plant," the older boy announced.

"I'll get a cup," Steve said and went upstairs to do so.

"Oh, I hope this works," Kelly sighed. Steve came back down and Jason poured the liquid in the cup and stirred it. Then he deactivated the force field and handed the cup to her. With a glare, she took the cup and took a long swig. Then, she groaned and dropped to her knees.

"CASEY!" Edwin exclaimed, starting to head for her.

"Wait, hold it," Brad said, grabbing his arm. "We don't know for sure if she's back to normal," he continued. She looked up.

"Guys? Wha-what's going on?" she asked in confusion. Everyone sighed in relief. It had worked. She was back.


	12. Back To Normal

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Of course. You'll see. You'll see. No prob. Sorry this isn't soon enough. Yeah, I know. I've seen 'em, mostly to laugh at 'em, although some of the affects **are** kind cool.

Twilight Gleek: Thanks. I'm glad you've enjoyed the story.

Alex B. Goode: Thanks. I'm actually working on Pt of Vampire Ranger.

DISCLAIMER

Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. I only own the plot. Reference to "Power Ranger Punks".

Jason turned off the force field and she walked out.

"What exactly happened?" she asked.

"You don't remember anything?" Jason questioned.

"The last thing I remember is drinking a cup of juice before Derek could grab it out of my hands," Casey answered.

"That's probably how you ingested the potion. She must've made herself invisible and spiked your drink," Alex realized.

"Oh, terrific," Casey sighed. "What did I do?"

"Well, let's just say that the Power Rangers are going to have to do some damage control in your neighborhood," Steve stated tactfully.

"Steve, tell me what I did before I drop kick you," Casey warned.

"You threw a rock through a car window and you stole your best friend's bike," Jason answered for her friend. Casey blew out a breath and raked her hair with her fingers.

"Oh, I don't believe this," she moaned.

"Relax. We're going to appear as the Power Rangers and say that you were placed under a spell," Jesse assured.

"That might work," Casey mused.

"Oh! And I believe this is yours," Edwin said, handing his stepsister her communicator.

"Thanks," she grinned.

"Oh, and you did good back there," Jason told Edwin.

"Thanks," Edwin beamed. Then, the alarm blared.

"Guys, guess what's back," Jason said casually.

"Ew, it's some kind of slime creature," Casey stated with a disgusted look.

"And our weapons are totally useless against it," Kelly sighed.

"Wait, slime, that's kind of liquid-y, right?" Brad queried.

"Yeah, so?" the others queried.

"So, maybe we could freeze it," Brad surmised.

"The Mastodon's Deep Freeze!" Steve exclaimed.

"That just might work," Casey agreed.

"Let's do it," Steve grinned.

"It's morphin' time!" Alex shouted.

"Dragonzord!" Jesse called.

"Mastodon!" Jesse summoned.

"Pterodactyl!" Casey yelled.

"Triceratops!" Brad cried.

"Saber-toothed Tiger!" Kelly shouted.

"Tyrannosaurus!" Alex exclaimed. Jason and Edwin watched as the six teens landed.

"We need Dinozord Power now!" the Red Ranger called as the Green Ranger played a tune on his Dragon Dagger. As the zords came out and Edwin took a peek at the older man's face.

"You look like you wish you were out there," he noted.

"Sometimes I do. I remember the feeling-the rush," he answered.

"You used to do this?"

"When I was their age."

"Huh." Edwin turned back to the screen to watch the Rangers in their zords. She really was amazing. From inside his zord, the Black Ranger pressed a button on the console and streams of water came flying out. The monster screamed in rage and pain.

"I CAN'T MOVE! I CAN'T MOVE!" The zords fired on the creature and the Dragonzord whirled around and struck the monster. It roared once last time before it exploded.

"Wow. That's awesome," Edwin breathed. On the moon, Bandora shrieked in rage.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY BEAT US!" she yelled. She turned to Gorkon. "YOU FAILED ME YOU STUPID BAT!" He hissed. On Earth, the Rangers reappeared in Jason's basement.

"Wow. You guys were great," Edwin breathed.

"Thanks," Casey grinned as she demorphed.

"Okay, our sensors caught Casey's little 'Wild child' act and the police were called by a neighbor, so you guys better stay morphed so you can explain her behavior," Jason told the other Rangers. They nodded and they put their helmets back on. Meanwhile, two had shown up at the MacDonald/Venturi house, and were talking to George and Nora.

"No, this doesn't make sense. Casey's a good girl. She's not a vandal," Nora protested.

"Mrs. Venturi, I realize that this hard to hear, but from what I'm hearing, this is her first offense and she'll most likely just get probation," the officer stated. Before he could respond, there was a whooshing sound and they were all surprised to see Casey and Edwin with six people in colored costumes.

"What's going on here?" George wondered.

"It's the Power Rangers," Nora said in surprise.

"Who?" everyone asked.

"In Angel Grove, there are monster attacks almost daily and the Power Rangers fight against them," Nora answered.

"So, what do you guys have to do with a case of vandalism that was apparently caused by this young lady?" the officer wondered.

"The main villainess that we fight-Bandora-put a potion in this young lady's drink, which turned her from good to bad. She also kidnapped this young boy here. She did this so that we would have to split up in order to find the antidote for her as well as finding him and fighting the latest monster," the Red Ranger explained.

"Our mentor monitored the situation and saw that under the potion's personality change, she broke a car window with a rock and then stole her best friend's bike," the Pink Ranger added.

"We can pay for the damages. Just tell us how much it would cost," Nora interjected. The two officers stared at one another.

"You used to live in Angel Grove, man. Were these "spells" common?" one asked.

"Uh, I remember one time when a couple of kids in my class started acting like punks, even scaring the two regular punks, but it wasn't all that common," came the reply. Then, "All right, we'll let you off with a warning since you weren't in control of your own actions. We'll tell our commanding officer what happens. He knows that I'm from Angel Grove and he's heard me talk about the Power Rangers." George and Nora thanked them and the officers took off. Edwin pulled Casey into the kitchen.

"How'd they do that with the Pink Ranger?" he whispered.

"Hologram using my voice," Casey explained.

"Oh," Edwin said. He nodded. That made sense.

"I better go apologize to Emily," Casey sighed and then left. She knocked on the door, which opened to reveal her friend's mother.

"Hi Mrs. Davis, is Emily home?"

"She's in her room. Go on up." Casey walked up the stairs to Emily's room and then knocked on the door.

"Come in." Casey walked in. Emily looked up from her magazine and sighed.

"What?"

"I'm so sorry. I was a brat and-"

"That's okay. You were probably just having a bad day."

"Yeah. I was. But I still shouldn't have taken it out on you. Do you forgive me?"

"Of course." The two hugged.

MONTHS LATER

Casey was washing dishes while Edwin was drying.

"Hey, thanks for helping," Casey said.

"No problem. Anything for you," Edwin responded. She chuckled and continued washing the dishes. "Thanks for this, by the way," he continued, gesturing to a silver communicator. Then, her communicator went off. She froze.

"Go ahead. I got this," he assured.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, do your thing." Casey dried off her hands and touched her communicator.

"What's up?"

"Casey, Bandora just sent down an eggplant monster." Casey's head recoiled. _Okay then_, she thought to herself.

"Where are they?"

"Angel Grove Dam." Edwin motioned her to stay put and then made a quick search of the downstairs and then came back in.

"You're clear."

"It's morphin' time! Pterodactyl!" As Casey disappeared, Edwin continued doing the dishes. _Be careful, Casey. May the Power protect you_, he thought.

THE END


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